Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels.

Easiest Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. For your weekend bagel fix…and every day in between. Made using pantry staples, a good amount of cinnamon, and a touch of sweet brown sugar. These bagels are chewy, extra cinnamony, perfectly sweet, and have a little crunch with every bite. Perfect to make on the weekend and enjoy throughout the week…bagel exquisiteness.

But this week? It is all about bagels. More specifically, cinnamon crunch bagels. 100% inspired by the Panera Bread cinnamon crunch bagels I used to love so much as a kid (anyone else?!). I created my own homemade version, and I dunno, I think they might just be better. To be fair, I have not had the Panera version since I was probably 10 years old. So it’s been a while, but, going from memory, I kinda think my homemade version is better.

Why? They have the perfect ratio of chewy bagel, to cinnamon sugar crunch. Meaning, they’re heavy on the cinnamon crunch, and that’s just the way they should be.

Here’s the story.

I’ve actually been working on a good bagel recipe for over a year now. Yes, over a year. I first started the process back in January of 2018. And while I made multiple rounds of plain and sesame seed bagels, I just never came away with a bagel that was truly amazing. I gave up on the bagels sometime in February of 2018. But then January of 2019 rolled around and well…I had the desire to give the bagels another go.

After 4 or 5 rounds, I gave up. Again. It’s not that the bagels were bad, they tasted just fine. But you guys know me, I have my standards. I only like to share the very best recipes with you guys. Because of this I just never shared any of those bagels attempts.

But then I remember that a while back I created a recipe for cinnamon crunch bagels. As soon as I remember that, I knew I had to make a new and improved cinnamon crunch bagel. Because well, what’s better than a cinnamon crunch bagel?

Absolutely nothing.

Well, ok. I think this probably depends on just what you’re in the mood for. If you want a bagel…and you also want something sweet…then there’s nothing better than these bagels.

If you’ve never made bagels, do not fear, they are simple and easy, especially with this recipe.

My trick is to use instant yeast, which makes mixing up the dough super easy, and keeps the rising time very minimal. What’s really awesome, is that these bagels require no fancy ingredients. Just water, yeast, honey, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter.

That’s it. And if you have a kitchen with anything stocked in it, then you most likely have these ingredients on hand.

Mix the dough, let it rise, and then shape the dough into bagels. Meaning, roll into balls, punch a hole through the center of each ball, and create a bagel shape. EASY.

The trickiest part about bagels is the boiling process, which truly isn’t tricky at all. Simply drop the bagels, a few at a time, into boiling water and boil until they float. Boiling the bagels before baking gives them the chew factor, and that classic “bagel” taste.

Now, the key to these bagels is the cinnamon crunch topping. It’s just a simple mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Simply sprinkle the topping over top each bagel before baking. As the bagels bake up, the topping melts and slowly begins to caramelize over the bagel, becoming crunchy.

DELICIOUS.

I do want to note that the cinnamon sugar will fall off the top of the bagel and onto the pan. When this happens, just use a spoon to quickly, and carefully, scoop the sugar up off the pan. Then simply spoon it back over the bagel. This is why it’s important to line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Once the bagels have cooled off slightly (like just not piping hot), be sure to enjoy one fresh out of the oven. These are great smeared with butter or cream cheese, and yes, the leftover bagels are beyond good toasted. These bagels make for a really fun weekday breakfast…or lunch!

So, what are your weekend plans? hopefully bagel making and plenty of chill time. Yep, it’s much needed. See y’all Sunday!

If you make these cinnamon crunch bagels, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

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4.6 from 54 votes

The Recipe

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels.

For your weekend bagel fix...and every day in between. Made using pantry staples, a good amount of cinnamon, and a touch of sweet brown sugar. Perfect to make on the weekend and enjoy throughout the week.

Cinnamon Crunch Layer

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, and salt. Knead until the dough comes together, about 1-2 minutes. Cover and let sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and place on your counter, using a little more flour if needed to prevent from sticking. Divide dough into 10-12 balls. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your finger to poke a hole in the middle. Gently stretch the dough until the hole is about 2 inches big. Place the bagel on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and let the bagels rise for about 15 minutes.

4. To make the topping: In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lower 2-3 bagels at a time into the water. Boil for 3 minutes then flip to the other side and boil for 1 additional minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the pot letting the water drain. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until you've boiled all of the bagels.

6. Brush each bagel with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and spoon clumps of the brown sugar mix over the bagels (see above photo). This is going to be your "crunch" layer. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bagels are golden brown, rotating the pans half way through cooking. Allow the bagels to cool. Slice, toast, eat whole, slathered with butter or cream cheese! Bagels will keep for 4-5 days in a sealed storage bag.

HI! NO I would not change the other measurements, but using all whole wheat flour might give you a bit of a dense bagel. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

Please clarify if the topping has two or three teaspoons of cinnamon. In the ingredients you list one tablespoon, and in your instructions you mention two teaspoons. What happened to the other teaspoon? Thanks!

Believe it or not … I’ve never made bagels before. Kinda sad. But, better late than never. And what a wonderful way to start with these Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. I really didn’t understand how simple they are to make. Thanks.

As a New Yorker now living in Oregon, I miss bagels. I’ve been wanting to try making my own, but I have been intimidated. This recipe is EASY, and although they didn’t turn out perfectly (the butter and sugar mix pooled at the bottom of my bagels and stuck – whoops), the flavor and texture are GREAT. I will absolutely be trying this recipe again. I wonder if the base of these bagels could be used and the flavorings just swapped? Hmmm. Thanks for a great recipe, I’ll tag you on Insta!

I made these yesterday. I halved the recipe because I didn’t have enough yeast to make the full recipe, still ended up with 10 bagels (I think i made mine smaller). But they are so good! I did everything just as the recipe is written (minus the fact that I halved it). I made these when my husband was out running errands, and when he came home he was asking for donuts and I gave him one of these and he said they were better than donuts!

I will definitely be making these again.

One more thing: I tried to toast these in the toaster oven this morning, and I wouldn’t recommend that because the sugar coating got super hot and was difficult to remove from the toaster oven.

HI! The leftovers are SO GOOD. The top is a little less crunchy, BUT just put it in the toaster and it crunches right back up! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

I made these this morning and am happy with the results. I have never made bagels before, in fact I had to search for a few minutes to even find the dough hook for the stand mixer. They look great, taste great, but I wonder if I should have cooked them a bit longer. I did extend the cooking time to 35 minutes bacause my oven is never hot enough but I was worried to go longer because I didn’t want to burn the cinnamon-sugar. I think toasting the rest of them before eating them might just make them perfect. While I like the cinnamon-sugar flavour, I’d probably like sesame or garlic better because I’m a savoury girl at heart. Tagged you on instagram! Thanks for the great Sunday morning project.

WHOA, my mind is blown. I’ve always wanted to make my own bagels! A hybrid between coffee cake and a bagel sounds really incredible–yours looks freaking delicious! I really want to make this recipe, but I’ll see if substituting sugar for the honey and coconut oil or vegan butter for butter will suffice!

This is my first time making bagels. I’ve always wanted to since they are hard to find in Spain but never dared because I thought it was difficult. Turns out it’s not! You recipe is both scrumptious and easy to make. Thanks so much for this, Tieghan! This is going to be on my top baking recipes for sure.

HI! I can’t really say for sure, but honestly I don’t think the recipe would turn out very good with these subs. I am sorry, I wish I could have helped. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

I love the Panera cinnamon crunch bagels.. but these!!! I ADORE I make bread all the time even sourdough, never tried bagels. I guess I thought they would be difficult They aren’t ! They are delicious! Please folks just try them you will never go back to the factory made ones again! Thank you for not giving up on bagels

Hi Carly! You can mix the dough by hand using a spatula and then hand kneading the dough on the counter for 5-10 minutes until it comes together and forms a smooth dough ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

Hey Courtney! I am so sorry you had some trouble. Was there anything you did differently at all? Any ingredients different? Method of baking this? Any info will be helpful to help me problem solve and figure out what might be happening for you. It’s hard to know without knowing any details. next time, try using only 2 tablespoons butter for the topping and seeing if that helps. I do have some of the toppings melt off and onto the pan when I make these, but I just scoop it up and put it back on the buns. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope I can help you! xTieghan

Meet Tieghan Gerard.

I’m Tieghan, the recipes you’ll find here are inspired by the people and places I love most. I try to live simply, eat seasonally, and cook with whole foods. My hope is to inspire a love for amazing food, as well as the courage to try something new!